BELLVILLE, Ohio — When Beth Crose sees her clients chewing, yawning, nodding their head, she’s happy. Her business, Collective Energy Therapies, is committed to helping horses heal by providing non-invasive, energy related therapies.

The chewing, yawning and nodding means the horse is beginning to relax, to feel better.

“These therapies are highly effective and help speed the healing process, as well as enhance the care from veterinarians, farriers, equine dentists and chiropractors,” said Crose.

The therapies should never be used in place of proper veterinary care, Crose emphasized.

“I do not treat horses, the veterinarian treats horses. What I do is therapy,” she said.

Crose offers her equine clients: myofascial release, equine chiropractic consultation, saddle fitting analysis, digital thermal imaging, Reiki and cranio sacral sessions, as well as gemstone therapies.

“The myofascial release refers to restrictions in the body where energy is blocked,” she said. “The Reiki (an ancient form of healing) deals with energy centers in the body. The gemstone therapy that I do, cranial sacral, also deals with energy. The equine chiropractic consultations deal with the restrictions and compensated muscles in the body.”

Crose does thermal imaging with an infrared camera. It detects heat and will show the source of inflammation.

“If we can’t pinpoint the problem or the vet can’t pinpoint then maybe we would use the thermal imaging to find out where the inflammation and the hot spots are,” shed “We would use the myofascial release to then release those areas.”

In case of an injury a veterinarian should always see the horse first. If the injury was a recurrence Crose would consider if it was repetitive motion problem - possibly saddle fitting that is causing sore muscles.

Before determining what treatment is needed Crose spends about an hour with the horse and its owners. She does a complete head to toe examine, range of motion tests to test flexibility and then palpation of the entire horse to feel for heat, tight spots, also structural things like vertebrae which may be out of alignment.

Crose knows that while alternative therapies are becoming more accepted many people are still not open to them. Her clients, however, are convinced.

Jack McDonald, JM Cutting Horses, LLC, near Mt. Gilead owns and trains horses.

“Cutting horses are very athletic and it’s easy for them to get muscle strain, joint strain,” McDonald said. “The thermal imaging is a real handy device to show the “hot” spots - when they have an injury or soreness usually it creates a “hot” spot especially in their legs and their feet. It’s a good way to isolate those problems so you know what to treat and how to treat it."

“On muscle problems Beth does myofascial release therapy which is very good because it increases blood flow to injured areas and it helps to speed up the healing process,” he said.

Crose also does myofascial release and Reiki on Libby Tucker’s horses. Tucker said: “She has worked wonders on all of them, especially an older horse that had been lame for quite some time and had back problems.

Between the chiropractor and Beth we got him pretty well straightened up. Whenever she worked on “Jesse” it was just awesome. You’d have to see him.”

Tucker’s horses are worked a lot in show season and they tend to a little sore, she said.

“I have Beth come and it’s like us having a massage. It’s just awesome. It works wonders,” she said.

How Crose, who was always an animal lover, got started in working these wonders is an interesting story. She became certified as a Reiki Master for humans in 2004 (often after Crose treats the equine client, the human client also want a treatment).

“When I discovered what a difference Reiki made in horses it snowballed from there,” she said.

Later, when she went to school in Virginia for the myofascial release, “The bells the whistles went off and said this is what you’re supposed to be doing,” she said. “I just knew at that moment that I wanted to make a difference in horses, in how they feel how they respond, I wanted to help heal horses more quickly.”

To help even more, Crose’s business is portable. She goes to the horse for treatment.

“People do not need to load their horse and risk further injury or stress on their horse,” she said.

For more details, call 419-571-2209.

This farm news was published in the March 22, 2006 issue of Farm World.